Tuesday, February 14, 2017

Ignorance Leads to Apathy and Victim Blaming and Shaming

I work part time at a call centre and was recently offended by and put off when the man who I was interviewing said something along the lines that sexual assault is a problem when the woman wears "certain apparel." I know this man was 86 or so, but the fact that this belief still exists is disturbing and puts blame on the victim of the violent crime rather than the perpetrator. This attitude in fact exonerates the offender! No one deserves to be raped because they wore a short skirt! Just like no one deserves to be beaten up or discriminated against because they are transgendered or have their mosque blown up because they are Muslim. They weren't asking for it! Crime is crime and is NEVER a victim's fault! Attitudes like this dissuade victims from coming forward. Ignorant and incompotent Judge Robin Campbell comes to mind when he asked a victim in a rape case why she couldn't "just keep her knees together" (http://www.cnn.com/2016/09/12/world/robin-camp-rape-comments-trnd/).The fact that assholes like this work in the court system is beyond me! Mind you, there are jerks (some women included!) who still think like this in every walk of life. Continued education is important to teach people about the importance of consent, that victims are never to blame, and to encourage victims to report crime and not to fear judgement, shame, or condemnation. Being raped is one of the worst things that could ever happen to a woman! Why should she be made to feel worse than she already does?! More must be done to fight against and hopefully dissipate the rape culture that is still so prevalent in our society. It's time we worked together as a society rather than against each other to make a better place for ourselves and our children!

Monday, February 13, 2017

Why I Don't Use Social Media

I'm a writer and an extrovert and love people; however, I'm not on social media and have no desire to be. Don't get me wrong. I don't care if other people are on social media. It just doesn't interest me. About six or seven years ago, I used to be on Facebook. But then I realized how much time I was wasting by being on it. Looking at photos of people who I used to go to school with and hadn't even been friends with. Checking to see if someone had written me. I was in fact obsessed. So with the encouragement of a friend who was anti-Facebook (I'm not anti-Facebook) and my own realizations, I deleted my Facebook account. My Mom was shocked but got over it. She doesn't have an account herself but knew how obsessed I'd been with Facebook. I know who my real friends were and decided that texting, e-mailing, calling, and getting together whenever it was possible was more important than being (in my case) an obsessive Facebook user. I could choose who saw photos of my birthdays and knew when I was going on vacation. My ex-mother-in-law had all the time in the world for Facebook but forget about e-mailing or calling me. It's sad when some people let social media interfere with more important priorities. According to a New York Times article entitled "Facebook Has 50 Minutes of Your Time Each Day. It Wants More" published on May 5, 2016, there were a record monthly 1.65 billion active Facebook users and that people spent 50 minutes on Facebook, Instagram, and other Messenger platforms. The 18 to 34 demographic, millennials in particular, are the most active (https://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/06/business/facebook-bends-the-rules-of-audience-engagement-to-its-advantage.html?_r=1). Do I miss Facebook? There were slight moments when I did; however, there weren't enough of those moments to make me want to create another account. Yes, I'm a writer but choose to let my thoughts be heard on my blog. LinkedIn is the only professional networking (social media-esque) site that I belong to and it's more work-related than anything. Do I feel like I'm missing out by not Facebooking or tweeting? Spending hours looking at photos of people who I'm not close to or posting my own photos on Instagram? Not at all. I'd rather be reading, writing, watching Netflix, or hanging out with my real friends or family. To tweet or not to tweet? I'll leave that to the birds.

Saturday, February 11, 2017

The Art of Being Grateful

I had tea with a friend this morning who reminded me that even though life is a struggle, it is important to be grateful for the little things. While I'm not one to journal, she suggested that I write a list of things that I'm grateful for each day. By doing so, I would be reminded that things weren't so bad. It would also help me feel and think a bit more positively. I guess if I had to make a list for today it would include: 1. My family and friends 2. My awesome downtown apartment 3. Food 4. Work 5. My health 6. Living in Canada where there are women's rights, tolerance, and freedom unlike the Trump show in the US or the Middle East. I guess I could throw in the fact that it's Saturday night, and I can relax at home in my pjs with pizza and Netflix and can sleep in tomorrow because I'm off! That's ALWAYS a good thing!